2 December 2019. Denmark plans to crack down further on disadvantaged neighbourhoods by reducing the number of "non-Western" residents, the Social Democratic government said Wednesday, scrapping the controversial term "ghetto" in its … Economic constraints. Hardcore ghetto areas are housing areas that have been on the Ghetto List for at least five years, and as of 1 July 2019 they must have prepared a development plan that conveys how they intend to reduce the share of public housing in the area to, at the most, 40 percent. Denmark draws up a list of areas it dubs "ghettos" every year. Fifteen Danish neighbourhoods currently fall into this category, and 25 others are considered “at risk”. How Denmark's 'ghetto list' is ripping apart migrant communities. Denmark lists 22 areas where over 50% of residents are non-Western immigrants. governmental focus, and which also made it easier for everyone else to identify a ghetto. It is our duty to use our privilege to present this issue at a global level and increase people’s critical awareness. Besides that, the Danish ghetto list has drawn inspiration from other countries, such as Sweden, Germany and The Netherlands. One of the most striking and main criteria is: “at least half of the residents living in the area are immigrants or descendants of non-western countries[2]”. FILE PHOTO: A worker stands beside a Danish flag on a construction site of new housing being built next to Mjolnerparken, a housing estate that features on the Danish government's "Ghetto List", in Copenhagen, Denmark, May 8, 2018 © REUTERS/Andrew Kelly. Furthermore, residential areas that have been on the ghetto list for four consecutive years are classed as “ hard ghettos”. Looking at the definition of ghetto, it might be wrong to use the word itself as well. Get short URL. Written by Amay Visser, Bergen Jome, Danielle Baillargeon, and Daphne Nietfeld.This is a story in the Mapping the Ghetto in Paradise series. A particularly vulnerable public housing area (Danish: Særligt udsat alment boligområde) is an official term for district in Denmark which according to the government has social problems, and usually has a majority population of "non-Western" ethnicities. The existing legislation also calls for council homes in these areas to be reduced to 40% of available housing by 2030. The list is updated each December. Denmark’s ‘Ghetto List’ dropped drastically from last year. What do they want to achieve with this description? Denmark's centre-Left government plans to reduce the number of "non-Western" residents in housing areas across the country to 30 percent or less within ten years in the latest in a … Anti-Muslim discrimination is now central to Danish immigration and integration policies. Denmark has announced plans to crack down further on disadvantaged neighbourhoods by reducing the number of “non-western” residents, scrapping the controversial term “ghetto” in its proposed legislation. Danish political parties will discuss the bill and it is expected to pass, though no date has been set for the vote. According to Statistics Denmark, 11% of Denmark’s 5.8 million inhabitants are of foreign origin, of whom 58% are from a country considered “non-western”. The Danish government has created a "ghetto list", a classification of 29 neighborhoods that do not meet certain criteria. The Danes are doubling down on their “ghetto list.” Yes, that’s actually what the government calls it. In the bill – a review of existing legislation on combatting “parallel societies” – the interior ministry proposed that the share of residents of “non-western” origin in each neighbourhood be limited to a maximum of 30% within 10 years. READ ALSO: Danish right and left wingers combine to urge Ghetto List rethink. Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. She is currently studying a masters in Nordic Urban Planning Studies at Roskilde University. news@thelocal.dk . In conclusion, there are no ghettos in Denmark according to the definition of Troels Schultz Larsen. In these neighbourhoods, misdemeanours carry double the legal penalties in place elsewhere, and daycare is mandatory for all children over the age of one, or family allowances are withdrawn. But the measures adopted as part of Denmark’s ‘ghetto initiatives’ have also drawn media attention across the world. Change ), Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window), Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window), Othering in Denmark: “Ghetto List” from Planning Perspective, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ghetto, Danish migration policies with Professor Michelle Pace, ‘One Denmark without parallel society – no ghettos in 2030’. The interior minister, Kaare Dybvad Bek, said in a statement that too many non-western foreigners in one area “increases the risk of an emergence of religious and cultural parallel societies”. The slack of the word “ghetto” makes it easy for politicians to use ridiculous generalizations about the entire area or entire groups of people. Anti-racist activist John Graversgaard, from Aarhus, sets out campaigners’ objections to Denmark’s forced integration strategy. Bergen Jome is from the United States and holds a bachelors in history and public affairs. By specifically targeting residential areas that are immigrant heavy through the instrument of the ghetto list, the Danish government is furthering the insidious process of ‘othering’. ‘Ghettos’ and ‘Hardcore Ghettos’. And since 2018, the list has been divided into three categories: ‘Vulnerable Neighbourhoods’. For more information about this refer to our previous articles. Denmark’s ‘ghetto list’ must be scrapped July 18 2018 Comment. The “ghetto list” in Denmark was a way for the government to be seen as doing something to deal with crime and poor integration. (In)direct discrimination, for example in the labour market, based on characteristics of the area in which one lives.4. The overrepresentation of minority groups in these areas is often the result of social, legal or economic pressures[1]. Until now, the term was used legally to designate any neighbourhood of more than 1,000 people where more than half were of “non-western” origin, and which met at least two of four other criteria.